CANDY

Candy, candy, CANDY!

When I was younger, I loved candy. My immense sweet tooth devoured chocolates, gummies, sour candies, and any other product that had sugar. Somehow, I escaped this phase without any cavities.

But was there a cost, other than death decay, that I was unaware of? I had severe acid reflex and heart burn growing up and chocolate was a big NO. The sugar itself does not seem to have a direct impact on the stomach, however, more added sugars often have more calories, often causing weight gain. Being at an unhealthy weight does seem to be a factor. High amounts of sugar can also harm digestive controlling muscles like the vagus nerve. Not to mention the risk of diabetes. Fat around the waist is often seen as more harmful because of its link to heart issues. Right now, the United States estimates that 1 in 5 children aged 12-18 years have prediabetes (increased risk of developing type 2 diabetes). These same children also have increased cholesterol levels and blood pressure making them more likely to have heart disease or a stroke. In middle school and high school. . . .

Obesity is another side effect of high amounts of sugar. According to the WHO (World Health Organisation), 1.9 billion adults are estimated to be overweight. That is about 13% of the entire world population. Some organizations do not want to directly state sugar is the factor that contributes to obesity; however, we do know there are more products with artificial sweeteners and additives in our snacks, soft drinks, candy, and everyday food items than before. These sugars provide more calories to the product with lower nutritional value.

Wait does sugar cause cancer?

There have been many studies to help test the carcinogenicity in some artificial sweeteners like cyclamate, sucralose, saccharin, and the controversial aspartame. Overall, the FDA has determined most of these "safe", in regard to linking sugar to cancer causing. However, the Mayo Clinic has done an intrusive dive into the link between sugar and cancer. Coming to the conclusion that sugar is not the sole contributor to cancer.

How much sugar should I consume?

The CDC has offered a guideline on their recommendations for sugar intake. Overall, children under 2 should not consume ANY added sugars. Everyone else should make a goal to include less than 12 tsps of sugar a day (based on 10% less of average 2,000 calorie a day diet). Many adults are consuming much more than this suggestion. The average consumption of added sugars is 20 tsps for middle and high school children, 19 tsps for elementary age, and 13 tsps for children not in even in school yet. Yikes!

But sugar is not the ONLY scary part of our candy.

There are also a whole bunch of artificial colors added to most candy. Here are just a few the Center for Science In The Public Interest has listed:

-Blue 1 and 2

-Citrus red 2

-Green 3

-Orange B

-Red 3 and 40

-Yellow 5 and 6

Many of which have seen adverse side effects relating to tumor risk, cancer risk, allergy relation, and hyperactivity triggering.

The Food Revolution Network mentions the banning of synthetic food dyes in Europe and Australia but perfectly available in American soft drinks and foods.

Focus For Health Foundation explains Germany, France, and Switzerland have banned Blue 1. The U.K. and Switzerland have banned Red 40. Norway and Finland have also outlawed Yellow 5. But America can continue to enjoy these dyes in our cereals, ice cream, candy, cheeses, meats, drinks, and in products at fast food chains. For some reason these petroleum-based additives are preferred.

A few names sugar goes by:

-brown sugar

-corn sweetener

-corn syrup

-fruit juice concentrates

-high-fructose corn syrup

-honey

-invert sugar

-malt sugar

-molasses

-the "ose" sugars like dextrose, glucose, lactose, fructose, sucrose, and maltose

There are more names!

How do artificial sweeteners effect our body differently?

Fake sugars are hundreds of times sweeter than our traditional sugar. Some research has even suggested that artificial sweeteners can alter hormones, making us crave more sugar. These sugars can easily become addictive followed by more unhealthy eating and large consequences.

I know based on my own experience when I begin eating candy I continue to want more, and more, and more. Before I even realize it, I have eaten 3x the serving suggestion and enough sugar to leave me drowsy, unmotivated, and STILL hungry and unsatisfied.

What is the impact of candy products on the environment:

-Labor: Some of the most well-known companies use slave labor in producing chocolate. Many children are trafficked at a young age to work far from their families with little or no pay. The children face poor and unsafe working conditions including working directly with hazardous agricultural chemicals, machetes, long hours, and lifting heavy bags of product. 1.5 million children are estimated to still be working on these farms.

-Land: Deforestation due to producing palm oil, cocoa, and sugar. The Amazons suffer continuously as more land is used for sugar plantations (Brazil is one of the largest sugar producers). Burning is often used to remove trees from the land, causing greenhouse gases to be released. Not to mention the sudden increase in the supply-chain causing factories to run longer and harder than usual.

-Waste: After candy is consumed, the wrappers are left behind (most, if not all, are not edible). They cannot be recycled because of their small size makes it too difficult to sort out. They are often made of more than one material, like aluminum. With $2.6 billion estimated to have been spent on Halloween candy in 2019 according to the National Retail Federation, A LOT of wrappers were produced.

What can I do?

1. Reduction: The first step is reducing our candy consumption. Candy is not a nutritional need; we can choose to purchase sugary items on special occasions instead of daily indulgences.

2. Better labels: Our money is our vote. When we choose to buy products with special labels, we help support industries that are trying make positive changes. Below are a few to look for:

-The Rainforest Alliance

-Fair Trade Certified

-Certified B Corporation

-Forest for all Forever

-Fair Trade Federation

-Fairtrade America

-Cradle to Cradle Certified

-Cruelty Free International

-USDA Organic

-Regenerative Organic Certified

-Certified Animal Welfare Approved by AGW

-Non-GMO Project

-A Greener World

-1% for the Planet

-Made Safe

-Vegan Action/Awareness Foundation

1. Better ingredients: Choosing products with less ingredients and avoiding others (like palm oil) all together has health and environmental benefits.

2. Less packaging: Individually wrapped candies produce individual wrappers that end up in many landfills. Try out sustainably wrapped products like Mars Wrigley and Danimer Scientific are.

Try out a few of these more ethical candies!

Thank you for reading!

"Destiny is Mine"

*Reminder* I am not a doctor. This is not medical advice. Please refer to your medical practitioner for details pertaining to your specific health.